Interactive One Adds `BlackPlanet Rising,’ A Philanthropic and Public Service Site

Interactive One, the parent company of BlackPlanet.com, Hello Beautiful and other social networks, has launched yet another site — BlackPlanet Rising.

BlackPlanet Rising becomes the Internet’s newest large-scale, African-American site focused on philanthropy and community service.

According to the company, BlackPlanet Rising will be “the first comprehensive platform to provide tools, information and connections for African Americans to give back their time and resources to the community.  Interactive One will seek to activate African Americans through a broad cross-platform outreach program leveraging the Radio One stations, and its own robust online platform which reaches more than nine million monthly unique visitors and includes the original social networking site, BlackPlanet.com.”

Interactive One is a division of Radio One. Radio One is the largest radio broadcasting company targeting African-American and urban listeners with 53 radio stations in 16 urban markets. Radio One also owns Giant Magazine, and a controlling interest in Reach Media, home of the Tom Joyner Morning Show and blackamericaweb.com. Cable channel TV One is also a Radio One property.

Interactive One believes BlackPlanet Rising will become a gathering point for people to give back to their communities.

“This is the first platform that allows African-Americans to connect around services for and by the community,” said Interactive One marketing chief Maria Weaver Watson. “It also allows organizations, communities and individuals to tap into the largest African American audience across our various platforms to seek volunteers, board members, employees, and donations.”

Some of the tools and technology for the effort will be powered by VolunteerMatch.org, which claims to be the “preferred Internet recruiting tool for more than 69,000 nonprofit organizations.”

The back-end technology by VolunteerMatch will allow BlackPlanet Rising users to find philanthropic and public service opportunities in their communities.

BlackPlanet Rising is also partnering with DonorsChoose.org to identify public schools in need.